Last Snow
by KingAnthony
Summary: Freckles, mild mannered duck, against some strange creatures of the night.


King Anthony: I don't own Animal Crossing, or anything else for that matter.

Judy: Except X. He's an original character as well as his story.

King Anthony: You guys do well to enjoy. My second Animal Crossing story: Last Winter

X sat by the lake watching the ice melt during twilight. It would be spring soon and the cold weather had all but gone away. The snow strangely enough was the last to go. It was kind of sad if you over thought it. The saddest part was watching the last Snowmen melt, the same Snowmen that him and Freckles had made. He took off his red glasses and placed them in his explorer's jacket pocket. Times were changing. It would be soon the time of love, a time for all Wi-Fi guardians to face a brave new world.

He got up and walked home. It was getting late and he needed his rest. He had nothing planned for the next day except helping Tom Nook with this and that later in the evening. Quiet days led to quiet times. How long would activities stay quiet? He looked into the night sky. A shooting star shot by. It was kind of early for one he thought. Instead of making a wish he just looked at the beauty of it. He went home and fell asleep.

Freckles the duck, was enjoying a great night sleep. With dreams of being a sailor and going to all kinds of neat places, it was the dream of dreams. Something worked him out of his slumber though. He checked his alarm clock. It was 2:00 am. He laid there trying to figure out what woke him up. Unsuccessful begin to drift back to sleep. But a shadow- It was quick but it was a there. It had quickly passed on the wall. He looked to see if his curtains were closed. They were. He pushed it aside and closed his eyes. He thought he was going crazy.

Another Shadow. This time he felt a sense of fear in his bones. What was causing the shadow? He switched the lamp on. Its light flooded the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He cautiously did a sweep of the room with his eyes. Still nothing. He turned the lamp off. He calmed himself down. He laughed a bit- This time a sound downstairs made his color drain. It was a thief! He had to call Booker. He reached for his phone. He soon realized that his phone was downstairs. He mocked himself for such a design flaw.

He crept out of his bed. He felt as if he had left the safest place in the house. It was something he had to do though. He had to get to the phone and call Booker. If worse came to worse he could run to X's house and get help. He lived only so far away. That was the plan. It gave him a false sense of courage. He tiptoed to the staircase and looked down. It was dark near the bottom, but he could make out something… something sinister looking something that glanced up the staircase. It had the eyes of a demon. The eyes were a glowing golden yellow, a yellow that pierced into Freckles very being.

Freckles stumbled back. Cold sweat rolled down his face. He heard thumps now. Whatever it was, was now coming up the stairs. It was moving slow but Freckles couldn't move his body. He shivered. As the sounds drew near he found the courage to rush to his bed and hide under the blankets. He had made it right next to his bed when something grabbed him. It was cold and felt lifeless. He screamed. Something else was underneath his bed. It pulled him under, but he fought like a madman. Somehow he broke free and hopped on his bed. He stood on top and quickly turned to the staircase. The thuds had stopped. Maybe it had heard his screams and fled. There was only a slight moment of the lightest comfort before something grabbed him from behind. It placed its claw in front of his mouth. There would be no more yelling, no more running, for Freckles was pulled into the shadows to see the light…nevermore.

X thought he heard a distant yell. It was so rare to hear such a thing he grabbed his custom guardian jacket (with Official Guardian Icon) and rushed outside. Maybe it was nothing but it was still worth checking out. He lived closest to Freckles with everyone else on the other side of the river. He would check on him first. He began to make his way on the lightly packed snow. He hated walking around at night because of all the gossip of ghost floating about. He didn't care for much of the stories but it still gets to a person.

He reached Freckles house uneventful. There were no more screams or any sounds for that matter. Not even the usual crickets. Halfway there he thought of turning back because maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Something kept him going though and for once he wasn't happy his instincts were right. Freckles door was busted open. X rushed inside. Had someone come through the Gate? Impossible it was shut down for the night. Booker shouldn't have opened it for anything. It could have been an inside job but who would break in like this. Cleavelan is a peaceful place… X checked the house and found nobody. Freckles was missing. He checked outside for footprints, nothing. It had to be someone from outside the gate. He would have to check it out and maybe there he would find some clues.

He marched northbound towards the gate. He would reach a bridge a little northwestern that crossed the river and just beyond that sat the gate itself. Just before that bridge is the area where X chilled out. It's a wide-open plain. It's the place to be to have snowball fights or just have fun in the snow. He had just reached that clearing when he felt a chill. He spun around and looked deep into the trees he just came out of. It was now cast by a dark shadow. He swallowed; it was much easier walking though it then looking back at it. Something was off. Two fireflies… no it was a pair of eyes. X jumped into the clearing himself of the forest he just exited.

There was laughter now. It surrounded him. It engulfed him. He wanted to make a dash for the bridge. He had to get Cooper or Booker, somebody that could help him. He would have to go for it. He turned to make a run for the bridge, but something was now in front of it. Freckles… He was out cold. His entire body was covered in snow. The only thing that wasn't was his head. There was something next to him. A snowman. Was it there before? No time to figure it out he had to save Freckles.

X dashed up to him and began to tear the snow off. Someone hit him hard enough to go rolling in the snow. He looked up to see a shadowed figure laughing cruelly. It had the burning yellow eyes. X heard something to his right. He glanced over his shoulder. Another figure, but it had the same eyes. This one he could make out more… It was a snowman! X jumped up, they were both snowman. The snowmen paused and slid to Freckles. One spoke words of humanity. There was a sadness to his voice the felt heavy on X's heart. It looked upped into the night sky. It was warm enough that the snow was still melting a bit.

It all clicked. X looked at Freckles. These two snowmen? That wishing star… Could it be? X spoke to the snowmen. Soon the aura of fear had dissipated. X continued on towards the gate with the two Snowmen in tow. When he reached the gate he shook Booker up and got him to open the gate up. X gave him coordinates to the place of destination. He gave the snowmen the signal to follow and went through. Booker gave no question to why two snowmen were walking with him. Maybe he was dreaming.

Freckles woke up the next morning in his bed. He first thought it all a dream, but X was asleep on the floor. There was a note on his nightstand.

Frecks

Sorry about last night. We kinda lost ourselves. X showed us a new place to live, a place of infinite winter. We thanked him much indeed already. Seeing how we tried to turn you into a snowman we wanted to something to show our apology. We know you'll like it cause you sure need it.

-X's Snowman

Freckles Snowman

Freckles looked at his nightstand again to see a Snowman Phone place next to his lamp. He didn't know what to do next. It was a weird night… What can a person do after being attack and turned into a snowman…. He sneezed.


End file.
